Somerville Man Dies In Highway 36 Crash Near Valhermosa
Abner Johnson 42 of Somerville 2 died when his 1950 Ford East left Highway 36. The vehicle sailed 125 feet, struck the bank, and Johnson was killed instantly. Rites pending at Peck Funeral Home. Survivors include wife Ruth and daughter Melba Jean, plus extended family. The accident pushes area 1957 fatalities toward 51 for four counties. Police cite speed as major factor with radar results showing speeds up to 100 mph.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Phillip Kyle
Somerville 2
Abner Johnson
Highway 36
Wathermosa Springs
Johnson
Redstone Arsenal
Valdermosa Creek
Valhermosa Springs
Peck Funeral Home
Ruth Johnson
Melba Jean Johnson
Somerville
Doris Johnson
Martha Turney
Cleo Ransom
Marion Key
Arliene Vandiver
Hartselle
Russell Doris Johnson
Paul Roberts Johnson
Ira Johnson
Fairbanks
Alaska
Church of God
Organ County
Decatur
Chemstrand
Huntsville
Morgan County
Cullman County
Limestone County
Lawrence County
Highway Patrol
W. B. Little
Sgt. Little
Rt. 2
Valdermosa Creek Bridge
A. D. Ashcraft
M. P. Braswell
Local barber shop burglary report and community notes
L L Clemons of Hodges Barber Shop reported $6.65 stolen from the cash register on Friday with no signs of forced entry. Missouri Highway Patrol arrested a suspect for reckless driving and no license. Fairview seniors toured Tennessee Valley State Trade School to discuss June enrollment. Josephine Lyons was arrested in Morgan County on prohibition charges with three pints of whiskey found. bond set at $300. Eldon Stidger family returned from Pensacola visiting Navy Chief H S Fields. Mrs Bobbie Black and children attended Oral Roberts service. Fifth grade from Austinville Elementary toured the 200 and museum in Memphis with a picnic. Various local residents engaged in church and historical society activities. Decatur High School graduate Maurice LeCroy won a four year Columbia University scholarship. Trinity High School senior class to present Where Is The Fire on Friday at 7 30 pm. Charles Hodge part of Marksman's Quartet to appear on Ernie Ford show Monday. Ed Price of Union Compress to discuss cotton on WMSL at 6 45 pm Monday. James Roberts earned $25 in a Semmes Motor Company drawing. See DIARY On Page 2.
Senators Unable To Locate Key Beck Witnesses
Senate investigators reported four witnesses tied to Teamsters Union President Dave Beck have disappeared. They include Beck's son and two Beck relatives, all with Seattle addresses, hindering questions on Becks handling of union funds.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Key Beck
Washington
Senate
Teamsters
Dave Beck
Beck
McClellan
D-Ark
Teamsters Union
Fred Verschueren Sr
Dave Beck Jr
Joseph McAvoy
Norman Gessert
Verschueren
Kennedy
Millions In U S Go On Fast Time
Daylight saving time begins this weekend with clocks set one hour ahead at 2 a.m. Sunday. Observed in 14 states and the District of Columbia, with parts of 11 other states remaining on standard time. Main areas include the Northeast, Far West and Great Lakes. Some locations switch back on the last Sunday in September or October.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
New York
District of Columbia
Far West
Great Lakes
Sert
Thompson Named New U S Ambassador to Soviet Union
President Eisenhower selects Llewelyn E. Thomson 52 to succeed Charles E. Bohlen as ambassador to Moscow. Thomson, then envoy to Austria, will face Senate confirmation. Bohlen moves to the Philippines.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Marvin L. Arrowsmith
Augusta
Llewelyn E. Thomson
Eisenhower
Moscow
Thompson
Austria
Charles E. Bohlen
Soviet Union
Bohlen
Philippines
Russia
James C. Hagerty
White House
Senate
Don C. Bliss
State Department
Foreign Service
Ethiopia
Joseph Simonson
Nixon
Simonson
Hagerty
Walter P. McConaughy
Burma
Joseph C. Statterthwaite
Jaycees Name 1956 Outstanding Young Men of Alabama
The Alabama Jaycees named four outstanding young men of 1956 from a field of 19 at the state convention banquet in Tuscaloosa. They are Attorney General John Patterson, Blount Bros. Construction Co. president Winton M. Blount, state representative Charles W. McKay Jr., and William A. Stewart regional director of the National Conference of Christians and Jews.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Tuscaloosa
Alabama Jaycees
Alabama
Winton
M. Blount
Blount Bros. Construction Co
Montgomery
Charles W. McKay Jr
Democratic
Sylacauga
John Patterson
William A. Stewart
National Conference of Christians and Jews
Birmingham
McRae Motors to Receive Edsel Line Dealership
Clyde and Tommy McRae of McRae Motors in Decatur face final Ford approval for an Edsel Division dealership. Memphis district official H W Sparrenberger endorses the move as Detroit awaits final confirmation. The firm reorganized into a partnership and plans building upgrades for the Edsel launch with cars ranging from 304 to 346 horsepower.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
McRae Motors
Lee St
Decatur
Memphis
Ford Motor Co
Detroit
Edsel
Clyde McRae
T. R
Tommy” McRae
H. W. Sparrenberger
McRae
Nash
Tommy McRae
Syrians Warn U S Over 6th Fleet Move
An official Syrian source warned that the movement of the U S 6th Fleet into the Eastern Mediterranean will heighten Middle East tension.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Damascus
Syria
Mediterranean
Middle East
New Study To Start On Waterway Plans
Mobile April 27 Army engineers announce a new study starting May 6 on linking the Tombigbee and Tennessee rivers. The review will assess a proposed waterway costing 234.5 million dollars first proposed by French settlers in the Tombigbee Valley before 1801 and revived in several surveys over the years.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Mobile
Tombigbee
Tennessee
Army
Tombigbee Valley
Decatur Jaycees Tops In Extension Work
TUSCALOOSA The Decatur Junior Chamber of Commerce won the top award for extension work among state Jaycee clubs at the annual convention this weekend. During the past year Decatur was instrumental in expanding Jaycee outreach and activities statewide.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Tuscaloosa
Decatur Junior Chamber of Commerce
Decatur Club
U S Must Play Hand In Violent Middle East Politics
President Eisenhower and Secretary Dulles commit American power to support King Hussein of Jordan against extremists. The move aims to curb anti Western and Communist agitation and shape regional power dynamics.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
John M. Hightower
Washington
United States
Eisenhower
State Dulles
King Hussein
Jordan
Hussein
U.S
May Enter Legislative Lists
Close associates expect President Eisenhower to take personal command next week of a new drive to push his stalled legislative program through Congress. Congress returns from Easter vacation Monday to avoid a pile-up. Eisenhower will meet leaders of both parties at the White House to begin action on his foreign aid and school proposals.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Washington
Eisenhower
Congress
White House
Augusta
Ike
Edwards Draws Life Sentence In Farm Wife Murder
Ex convict Charles Edwards was sentenced to life in prison after a Circuit Court jury found him guilty of first degree murder in the stabbing death of Mrs Helen Falkner at her farm home near Columbiana last fall. He is also charged in the knife murder of Falkner’s three year old son Jerome. Principal witness was Mrs Inez Abel who testified Edwards entered the house as she waited outside. A toxicologist testified the mother had been raped.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Columbiana
Charles Edwards
Helen Odeil) Falkner
Here
Edwards
Falkners
Jerome
Inez Abel
Weather Outlook for Decatur and Vicinity
Warm trend continues with plenty of sun and a chance of afternoon showers or thundershowers. Tonight remains mostly fair and warm with light variable winds turning southeasterly. Monday outlook shows little change with a high near 85, Friday’s high 86 and a night low around 66. At 11 30 AM Saturday Gay reported HM degrees.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Decatur
Jordan Sets Up Military Courts After Political Crisis
Jordan's new antileftist regime formed military courts to try cases from the political crisis. Premier Ibrahim Hashem's two day old cabinet arranged the courts in a two hour meeting. Reports say hundreds of Communists and leftists may have been arrested, though targets were not specified.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Tom Masterson
Amman
Jordan
Ibrahim Hashem
Mobile Press raises weekly home delivery price
Mobile, April 27 The Mobile Press Register tonight announced an increase in the week's subscription price for home delivered editions. Effective Sunday, the cost of seven daily editions of the afternoon Press or morning Register including The Sunday Press Register will rise from 40 to 45 cents.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Mobile
Mobile Press Register Tonight
Afternoon Press
Morning Register
Sunday Press Register
NATO Ministers Face Big Issues
NATO foreign ministers meet in Bonn to decide how far to substitute tactical atomic weapons for foot soldiers and conventional arms. Key topics include Britain reducing troops, reliance on atomic retaliation, and US plans to train and arm allies with tactical nuclear weapons.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Herb Altschull
Bonn
Germany
NATO
Western Alliance
United States
Faith Healing Denied by Southern Presbyterians
In Birmingham on April 27 the General Assembly of the Southern Presbyterian Church United States ruled faith healing unscriptural. Commissioners said the belief that God will always raise up the sick through prayer denies human mortality and would abdicate God’s rulership of the universe.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Birmingham
Ala
General Assembly of Southern Presbyterians
Presbyterian Church
U.S
Assembly
Edwin Prices Nominated for All American Family Honor
Three Alabama families are named top candidates for the first annual All American Family Search. Edwin Prices of Decatur and his five children, Benjamin Johnson of Bessemer and his three, and Macon Willis of Tuscumbia and his six children advance. Final state winners join a national advisory panel to determine the All American Family of 1957 to be announced in early May and honored at the National Conference in Miami Beach May 28 to June 3.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
New York
Alabama
Barry J. Holloway
Edwin Price
Decatur
Benjamin Johnson
Bessemer
Macon Willis
Tuscumbia
Tional
Book of Knowledge
Boys’ Clubs of America
Biltmore Terrace
Miami Beach
Fla
Decatur Woman Fatally Injured in Friday Night Crash
Sadie Irene Morrison, 44, of 1017 Somerville Road SE, died after being struck on Somerville Road between 7th Street and Locust Street Friday night. Driver Robert K. Moore, 21, of Decatur, said he did not see her as he pulled away from a traffic light. She died at Decatur General Hospital at 12:20 a.m. Saturday from a severe head injury and multiple other injuries. Funeral arrangements set for Westside Presbyterian Church with Brown Funeral Co. handling.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Cullene Morgan
Decatur
Sadie Irene Morrison
Somerville Rd
Decatur General Hospital
7Th St
Locust St
Robert K. Moore
Decatur 1
Hallman
Charles T. Roberts
Also Mentioned on This Page
Berd
Somerville Rt. 2
Morgan
L.L Clemons
Hodges Barber Shop
The
Fairview
Tennessee Valley State Trade School
Fairview High School
Josephine Lyons
McCartney
Jimmie Collier
Eldon Stidger
Everett
Lacey
Pensacola
Navy
H. S. Fields
Bobbie Black
Dean Barnard
Austinville
D. L. Murphy
Melvin Oliver
N. A. Hill
Herman Woodall
Arthur West
Hubert Owens
Floyd Sherrod
Montevallo
Alabama Historical Assn
Maurice LeCroy
Decatur High School
Columbia University
Walter
Trinity High School
Charles Hodge
George Hodge
Wadsworth St
Marksman
Ernie Ford
Ed Price
Union Compress & Warehouse Co
WMSL
James (Curley) Roberts
Decatur Daily
Semmes Motor Company
Buckley
Llewellyn Thompson
Jaycees
Decatur Jaycees
Weather Report
Defense Organization
Edwin Prices
By Ken Reynolds
This is just the beginning! Our collection holds over 300 years of history, including rare newspapers, obituaries, marriage records, birth records, and so much more—most of which you won’t find anywhere else!